Psych!
by Kimberley Francisca
Summary: A National Treasure Self Insert. Gotta love 'em! RileyxOC
1. Chill

**A/N: The main character's name of this story is Abigail. I know you're all thinking 'Abigail Chase', but it's not. This is Abigail Patterson and I will do my best to help not confuse you about it. Enjoy!! Please R&R when finished reading!!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, I don't own.**

_Visions_

Chapter one: Chill

Abigail Patterson was lying on her bed, late at night, watching National Treasure, rewinding her favourite bits and watching them again. When it had gone eleven thirty, she started getting very tired and her eyes started drooping. But she couldn't go to sleep yet, she had to finish the movie! It was almost over, anyway…

But just after Ben and Company found the treasure, sleep overtook her and she was completely out to the world by the credits.

A little later her mother Stacy came to tell Abby to go to bed, and smiled lovely at her peaceful, sleeping daughter. She turned the TV and the heater off, closed the curtains, pulled Abby's bedclothes up over her and switched the light off, before kissing the teenagers forehead and returning to the lounge where she was watching a documentary on Discovery Channel about the hunting of Lions.

When Abby woke up, the first thing she noticed was the cold. Had mom turned off the heater again?? She was forever telling her not to, it was the middle of winter, for Pete's sake! She tried to roll over and go back to sleep for a couple more hours, but when she moved there was a small _crunch_ that she recognised immediately. It was the kind of crunch that was only ever made by snow. Then she noticed the absence of the weight of her bedclothes coving her, and listening carefully she could not hear the normal blasting of the TV, just a whole lot of wind that sent chills down her spine. It was then she decided to open her eyes.

Immediately she wished she hadn't. It was a bright sunny day and the snow was a blinding white. She covered her eyes as best she could to protect them and looked around. There was nothing. No buildings, no small huts with radios and most importantly no people. That didn't stop her from her instincts: screaming. She shouted until she was hoarse, but nothing responded. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to call anyone that could help her but there was no signal. _Damn technology _she thought bitterly, almost laughing humourlessly at the irony that was her telling her mother a couple of days ago that this was the one thing she couldn't live without.

She was on her own. And even worse: the cold was getting to her. She was shivering uncontrollably and her teeth were chattering so hard that she was afraid they were in danger of breaking. She curled up into a tiny ball, trying to keeping the little heat she had left fuelling her body: All she had on were the had on the night before: Black skinny jeans, a tank top and a thin jumper with pink slippers on her feet.

She sat there and rocked back and forth, waiting for hyperthermia to set in. Just as she was thinking about the possibility of never seeing her mother again, she heard the sound of distant engines. She sprang up, searching for the source of the noise. There, she saw, squinting a bright orange snow mobile. _A couple of orange snow mobiles_, she realised.

She didn't care who these people were, or how cold she was, or the fact that she had hardly enough will power to move, she sprinted towards the strangers, waving her arms frantically and shouting her loudest to get their attention. Finally somebody noticed her because to her relief she saw the front vehicle make a sharp right turn and was now heading towards her. She stopped the shouting and waving, but continued running because she reckoned, the sooner the better.

They were almost close when the ice that she didn't realise was so thin gave way beneath her. She was plunged down into blackness, the freezing water swallowing her. She didn't have the strength to struggle much, but inside her mind she was panicking. About ten seconds later two pairs of strong arms hoisted her out of the water. She came out spluttering, her lungs bursting with water. Her ears were full of water too, so she couldn't hear what they were saying, but didn't attempt to look at them either. She tried to say 'Thank you.' But she had no energy left. She just closed her eyes and thankfully passed out. Which was, in a way, good because if she had had the strength to look up into the eyes of her saviours, she would've undoubtedly passed out anyway.

**A/N: So what do you think?? Should I continue?**

**Review are luv people! x****D**


	2. Smart

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Smart

Abby's eyes fluttered open. A man was bending over her with concerning eyes. He had on a black snow jacket with fur around the rim of the hood and snow glasses which were covering most of the top half of his face. Still, she would have recognised that face anywhere. She shut her eyes tight in disbelief. _OMG!_ She thought. _It's……… Oh My God!_

She almost felt like fainting again it was so unbelievable. 'Are you alright? The man asked. Abby finally built up the courage to speak. 'Nick?' She had read so many of Nicolas Cage's profiles and biographies that in her head she had started to call him by his nickname even though she had never met him before. The man frowned behind his goggles 'My name's not Nick. It's Ben. Ben Gates. Are you all right?' Ben Gates? Was this even possible? She started to question her own sanity. This couldn't be real. How could she end up in National Treasure?? He helped her sit up. 'Better now.' She answered, still star struck and extremely confused with the situation. 'Uh, where am I?'

'You're in the artic circle, love.' Answered an all too familiar English accent. She looked past "Ben" to see a blonde hair main with the same goggles as Ben but he had a white coat on. She recognised him instantly, as Sean Bean, of course, but since Nick was Ben, then this must be… 'Ian Howe.' she muttered darkly. The man looked extremely surprised. 'Yeah, how'd you know?' He asked suspiciously. Abby started to panic. _Oh crap._ She thought. _What do I say?_ 'I'm, uh, good with names.' Personally she thought it was the lamest excuse ever, and she could see the Englishman did as well, but to her extreme relief he let the subject drop. Instead he turned to Ben 'Now that we know she's okay could we _please_ try and find _The Charlotte_?' Both men heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to look at the girl piled under many of their coats, still sitting on the ice.

She coughed. 'Sorry… Still trying to catch my breath.' She said, and coughed again loudly.

'Yeah let's go.' Ben agreed, and turned back to the girl, who was now attempting to stand up and had to throw several coats off herself just to move. He smiled when she overbalanced and made a scene of falling down again. 'What's your name?' He asked her, helping her to her feet. 'Abby Patterson.' Abby answered quickly. Then she reconsidered. 'Well, my name is actually Abigail, but my friends call me Abby.' She added, hoping it wasn't too much to say. She held out a numb hand and met a gloved one, shaking it. Then doing the same with Ian, trying to make it last as shorter time as possible. Ben was about to ask another question, but before he could, they all turned when a voice piped up behind them.

'Is she awake yet?' Riley Poole wined. 'You know it's going to take forever to find this ship if you two don't help….' He saw Abby standing with the other two men and came over. 'Took you long enough.' He said, earning an elbow in the ribs from Ben. 'I mean, Hi… I'm Riley.' He held out a hand. _God, he's even cuter in person._ She awed. _Say something, stupid!, _for there had been an awkward silence. She took his hand. 'I'm Abby. How long was I out for?' Riley released her hand and looked at his watch. 'About an hour. But don't go by me, I think my watch froze.' He flicked it to confirm. 'Yup, definitely frozen.'

There was a long silence, everyone thinking of what to say. Seconds that seemed like minutes ticked by, when Abby piped up. 'Did you say you were going to find something?' She asked. The three men nodded simultaneously. 'Can I help?' They all looked at one another and Ben smiled. 'Okay' he said. Turning and walking over to the vehicles and extracting a spare metal detector. 'Here you go,' he said and gave it to her. 'If you find anything, just shout.'

The group separated as they started searching. Abby was in earshot of Riley when Shaw walked up to him, slinging his metal detector over his shoulder. 'Look… This is a waste of time.How could a ship wind up way out here?'

'Well,' Riley sighed, and turned towards Shaw. 'I'm no expert, but...It could be that the hydrothermic properties of this region produce hurricane-force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze and then melt and then re-freeze, resulting in a semi-solid, migrating land mass that would land a ship…Right around here.' Abby couldn't suppress a giggle. She loved that part of the movie. Riley turned away from Shaw, leaving his mouth hanging open as if to say 'Huh?' and walked towards Abby.

'What are you giggling about?' Riley asked good naturedly. Abby giggled more. 'It's just…. You made him look so stupid.' She indicated to Shaw, who still looked confused. Riley smirked. 'Well, to tell the truth, I only said that to sound smart, it's not as if it's true. But I don't think he's ever going to know the difference.' Abby giggled again and Riley smiled, before they heard Ben shout. 'Over here! I've found something!'

While they were thawing out _The Charlotte_, Abby remembered what was going to happen in the movie: Ian's betrayal. She had to warn Ben sometime. So when they were about half way through, Abby asked if she could speak to Ben privately. Ben agreed and they started walking away from everyone else. They didn't talk while they walked, but about 50 meters out, Abby stopped suddenly. 'Ian's going to betray you.' Abby said quietly. Ben thought he hadn't heard properly 'Pardon?' He said, confused. 'Ian is going to betray you.' She said louder, clearly so that he couldn't have misheard.

'That's what I thought you said. Why would you say that? You barely know any of us.' Suspicion was clear in his voice. Abby hadn't thought of that and said the first thing that came to her head besides the almost unbelievable story of telling him that his life was a movie and he was just a character in a film.

'I can see the future?' She said hopefully, remembering another Nicolas Cage movie _Next_ that she had just seen, although knowing that he wouldn't buy it. _God, Abby, you have GOT to get some better answers to these questions._ She thought to herself.

It was obvious that Ben didn't believe her, and he said so. 'Look, I'm sure you mean well and all, but Ian has been a faithful college for two years, I don't think he's going to turn on me now.' He said bluntly 'Sorry.' He turned to walk back to the rest of the team, but she grabbed his arm to stop him. 'If it turns out i'm right, will you believe me?' She said pleadingly. He looked at me. 'You're the one that can see the future,' he said, raising an eyebrow. 'You should know.' And with that he started walking back. She sighed. _Smart._ She thought, and then began trailing along behind him.

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Please R&R!!**


	3. Boom!

Chapter Three:

Chapter Three: BOOM!

When they had finished, they went inside the ship with flashlights, leaving two men outside with a yell of 'Bring me back something!' They were all cautious on the ice, not knowing what to expect. Abby nearly tripped on the stairs, and fell back into Riley, who just managed to catch her in time. When she was balanced again, she smiled at Riley and said 'Thanks.'

'Anytime.' He replied, returning her smile. She looked away, somewhat embarrassed. They stayed where they were until Ian almost ran them over. 'Move it.' He growled to Riley, shoving him forward. After a minute of searching, there was a sound by the bunks. 'Oh, God!' Abby looked over in time to see Riley trip backwards, trying to get away from the frozen skeleton of one of the crew. Abby smirked and looked expectantly towards Ben. 'You handled that well.' He said sarcastically, then went over to the next door, not noticing Abby's expression. 'This is it!' He said to nobody in particular. 'It's the cargo hold!' He pulled the horizontal wooden lock up hard, and excitedly jerked it open.

As they entered the cargo hold and looked around, their hopes turned to disappointment. They had been expecting gold, treasure and other items of great value. Instead, there was nothing but snow-covered cannons, frozen barrels and bits of rope. 'Do you think it's in the barrels?' Abby piped up, knowing she was stealing Riley's line but didn't really care much.

They went further into the room and explored, breaking open the barrels.

Ian took some of the sand-like contents in his hand and sniffed it. 'Gun powder.' He said. You didn't have to look at him to know the disappointment that would be evident in his eyes. They continued searching through the barrels, tipping gun powder out on to the floor. Abby knew that soon Ben would make the discovery of the clue. And, sure enough, moments later there was Ben's voice calling, 'I found something!'

They all went over to Ben. 'What is it?' Riley asked as Ben undid the cloth-like wrapping, revealing a beautifully engraved box with three different symbols on the lid: two of the symbols were of people and the one in the middle was a Eagle. Ben looked into the faces of his colleges and smiled in anticipation. He opened the box carefully; picking up delicately what he knew was the next piece of the puzzle.

'Do you guys know what this is?' He asked.

'Is it a…… Billion dollar pipe? Riley asked hopefully, shifting his eyes from the pipe to Ben and back again eagerly. Abby giggled. Ian answered, taking the pipe into his own hands 'It's a meerschaum pipe.' He corrected, looking at it closely. 'Ah, that's beautiful.' He said.

Ben pointed. 'Look at the intricacyof the scrollwork on the stem.' Abby spoke up, knowing Riley still didn't know what it was. 'Is it a million dollar pipe?' Ben looked at her for a second and said. 'No, it's a clue… Let me see that.' He examined the pipe for a second, and then pulled it apart with a faint _click_. 'What, no?!' Riley said, alarmed. 'Don't break it!' Abby finished his sentence. Ben ignored them, looking around the table with a satisfied smile. 'We are one step closer to the treasure, gentleman.' He goes. Ian looked once again very disappointed with the situation. 'Ben – I thought you said the treasure would be on _The_ _Charlotte_.' His voice was filled with question and accusation. 'The secret lies with _Charlotte_.' Ben corrected. 'I said it _could _be here.' He pulled out a hand knife and pushed the tip into his index finger until it started sprouting blood. Then he put down the knife and picked up the stem of the pipe, rubbing his bloody finger against it, until it was completely covered in Ben's blood.

Ben took out a mini – notebook and rolled the stem down it, revealing a message. 'It's Templar symbols.' He realized. He grabbed a torch from Riley and began to read aloud:

'_The legend writ,_

_The stain effected,_

_The key in Silence, undetected._

_Fifty five in iron pen,_

_Mr Matlack can't affend.' _

There was a pause. 'It's a riddle.' Ben stated the obvious. 'I need to think.' He started pacing. Abby wished he would hurry up. Being static for so long was just making her colder. '_The legend writ, the stain effected. _What legend?' Ben asked the air. Abby decided it might be faster to just give him all the answers to his questions instead of those long, think-tank silence moments you see in the movie.

'The legend of the templar Knights.'

Ben looked at her quizzically, then said 'Yes…and the stain effects the legend… How?' and continued thinking. He sat down on a barrel.

'_The key in Silence, undetected.'_

Wait…'

He stopped. 'The legend and the key… Now there's something.'

Abby voiced the thought before he could. 'Maps have legends, maps have keys.'

'Yes…' Ben said again, without looking at her this time. 'It's a map. An _invisible_ map.' Abby nodded. 'So now…'

' – Wait a minute. What do you mean, "invisible"? – An _invisible _map?' Ian interrupted with an incredulous voice, alternating his eyes between Abby and Ben.

'Well, _The stain effected _could refer to a dye or a reagent used to bring about a certain result – combined with _The key in Silence, undetected_, the implication is that the effect what makes the undetectable, detectable.'

Abby explained quickly. She had never really paid attention to this long explanation while watching the movie, and was surprised when it came out of her own mouth. Riley stood gaping at her knowledge of this fact (since she was not Ben, he didn't think anyone else had bothered to learn such things).

'Exactly,' Said Ben, surprise filling his voice. 'How'd you know?'

'It was just logic…' Abby trailed off, hoping he would drop the subject. The lies were getting easier to make believable but that did not mean the lies themselves were less corny. To her relief, Ben did. He was deep in thought again, they could almost see the cogs turning inside his brain. 'Unless… _The key in Silence_ could be…'

'Prison!' Shaw spoke up, surprising everybody.

'Albuquerque!' Riley joked. 'See! I can too it too!'

'Snorkel!' Abby joined in, thoroughly enjoying herself.

'That's where the map is.' Shaw said, trying to regain some respect for his idea. 'Like you said: _Fifty_ _five in iron pen_. Iron pen is a prison!' He turned and gave Riley a look, as if to say, _say one word and my fist will be in your stomach sooner than you can say_ '_Albuquerque'. _Riley made an audible gulp and just stayed silent.

'_Or,_ it could be, since the primary writing medium of the time was iron gall ink, the "pen" is... just a pen. But then why not say a pen? Why... why say "iron pen"?'

''Cos it's a prison.' Shaw muttered ruefully.

Abby decided to give them a clue. '_Maybe_ "iron" doesn't describe the _ink_ in the pen, but something else…'

Ben jumped up. 'Of course!' He said loudly. '"Iron pen" - it describes what was penned. It was "iron" - it was firm, it was mineral... No, no, no, that's stupid.'

'It was resolved?' Abby said helpfully. Ben nodded. 'It was resolved.' He repeated, finally, as if nothing in the world would change his mind. Then he moved on to the last part of the clue. '_Mr Matlack can't affend… _Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the continental congress. Calligrapher, not writer. And to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that he transcribed, a resolution that 55 men signed.'

Knowing came into his eyes.

Abby was deeply tempted to say it, but she didn't want to steal Ben's thunder of this perfect moment.

'The Declaration of Independence.'

They all looked shocked for a moment. Riley Snorted. 'Come on, there's no _invisible map_ on the back of the Declaration of independence.' He said disbelievingly. Everyone wanted to agree with him; even Abby did for a moment. Ian shook his head as if to accept it. 'It's clever really; a document of that importance would insure the maps survival.' He looked at Ben. '…And you said there were several Masons sign it, yeah?'

'Yeah. Nine for sure.'

'Then we'll have to arrange a way to examine it.'

Abby snorted. She couldn't help it, really. In the movie it just all seemed part of the plot to make it interesting to watch, but hearing it in person made it sound WAY more ridiculous. 'This is one of the _most important_ documents in history,' she said. 'They're not just gonna let us waltz in there with our gloves and solutions and do chemical tests on it.' She looked around at the men. 'She has a point.' Riley and Ben said in unison. Ian was getting frustrated. 'Then what do you suppose we do?' Ben frowned. 'I don't know!'

'We could borrow it.'

'You mean steal it?'

Abby went rigid. She could practically see the fire starting to ignite. She had to fight a huge urge to scream out and tell them everything. About the movie, the fire, the explosion, Dr Chase, the Templars treasure… Everything.

Riley saw this and moved over to her. 'You Okay?' He whispered. She relaxed a tiny bit, but was still on high alert. 'Yeah,' she whispered back. 'It's just this is where it all goes wrong…' Riley was just about to ask what she meant when Ben spoke up loudly: 'I don't think so.'

Ian sighed. 'Ben… The Templars treasure is the treasure of all treasures-'Ben cut in, sarcasm dripping each word. '-Oh, I didn't know that, REALLY?' Ian sighed again. 'Look, Ben. I understand your bitterness, I really do. You've spent your entire life searching for this treasure, only to have the respected historical community treat you and your family with mockery and contempt. You should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces, and I want you to have the chance to do that.'

'Oh, yeah, we really believe your _sincerity, _Ian. Next thing you know you're against us and pointing a gun at our heads. Well, thanks, but no thanks.'

Abby had never meant for that to be spoken, but it slipped out probably because it was the only thought in her head at the moment, vividly pulsing in her head.

Ian walked up close to her, just enough to be intimidating. 'Do you have problem with me, Miss Abigail?'

Abby heard Riley gulp behind her. Cursing herself inwardly, she thought _ah, well. Now that you've started it, may as well make it worth your while._

'Yes.' She said, looking him straight in the eye. His stare was fierce and cold. 'I do not trust you.' She spoke slowly and loudly, so that everyone could hear.

'And why's that?'

Abby decided to change course. She knew she could say it, because nobody would believe her anyway. 'Let me tell you about the wonderful future of all your lives, shall I?' She said, almost sarcastically. Everyone looked confused, except for Ben. He just groaned. 'Abby, don't…' He pleaded.

'Sorry Ben. Ok, here's what's gonna happen. Ben's gonna refuse your offer of stealing the Declaration, despite your very subtle attempt of saying you do things of _questionable legality_, which basically means you're a criminal and would do anything it takes to get the declaration, even if it means killing Ben and/or Riley and stealing the declaration yourself.' Abby said in a matter-of-fact voice. 'You're going to threaten Ben and he's going to have to do something _very_ drastic.' No need to tell them _everything._ It would leave no surprises otherwise. She looked past the man in front of her to Ben, who was looking back, very confused. Then he looked down and saw the gunpowder. A harsh reality and understanding hit his eyes.

He looked back up at Ian. 'Is this true?' Ben said quietly. 'Of course it's true, why would I lie?' Abby muttered. Ian scoffed and nodded subtly at Shaw and walked over to Ben. 'Of course it not. I would never threaten you, Ben.'

Meanwhile, there was whispering coming from Riley and Abby.

'Hey, Riley?'

'Yeah?'

'Tell Ben the passwords Valley Forge- She pressed the E and the L twice.'

He seemed to be the only one that actually thought she was telling the truth, no matter how crazy it was. _Just like Ben_. He thought.

Abby was going to tell him something else when she felt a cold metal press up against her head. Then everything went black.

'What did you do that for?!' Riley and Ben shouted in unison at Shaw, who had whacked Abby over the head with his gun, knocking her out. Ian shrugged. 'Couldn't have her blurting _all_ of my secrets out, could we?'

He pulled a gun and pointed it at Riley, who was bending down to help Abby. 'Don't touch her.' Riley rose slowly back up and moved away. 'Ok…'

Ben looked angry. 'Abby was right. She _told_ me that you were going to betray me, Ian. I should have listened.' He looked down at the unconscious teenager. She looked so peaceful. He just hoped she was going to be okay…

'Look, Ben, I really need your help here.'

'Sorry, Ian, but I'm not going to let you steal the Declaration of independence.'

Ian sighed again. He really regretted doing this. 'Ok. From now on all you are going to be is hindrance.' He nodded towards Shaw again, who pulled out his gun once again and pointed it at Ben. Ian turned away. He did not want to watch. 'Hey!' Riley shouted, as if to say 'Not cool!'

Ben, on the other hand was cocky. 'What're you gonna do? You gonna shoot me Shaw?' In response, Shaw just cocked the pistol. 'Well, you can't shoot me.' Ben said, a little more nervously, talking to Ian's back. 'There's more to the riddle. 'Information you don't have. I do. I'm the only one who can figure it out, and you know that.'

'He's bluffing.' Shaw muttered.

Ben almost snorted in disbelief. 'We've played poker together, Ian. You know I can't bluff.' He said.

'Tell me what I need to know Ben, or i'll shoot your friend.' With another nod of Ian's head, Shaw shifted his target to Riley, who once again yelled 'Hey!'

'Quiet Riley, your job's finished here!' Ian snapped at him.

Ben had had enough of the threats, and put his plan into action. Unnoticed he took the flare out of his pocket and lit it. The gun was once again pointed towards him. 'Look where you're standing,' He said. All the men looked down briefly. 'All that gun powder…' Ian and Shaw suddenly looked uncomfortable and alert. The status quo had changed. 'You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up.' Ben didn't want to put the two youngest people in the room in danger, but what had to be done had to be done. Riley looked anxious. 'Ben,' He called warningly to his friend.

Suddenly it was Ian's turn to be cocky. 'What happens when the flare burns down?' He smirked. 'Tell me what I need to know, Ben.' Ben knew that he was stuck. He wouldn't ever tell Ian what he needed to know, because then he would just shoot him and/or Riley and Abby anyway and he really didn't want to drop the flare either. But he had to do something.

'You need to know… That Shaw can catch!' He threw the flare.

It was like he was watching a movie and someone had pressed the slow motion button. He let go of the flare as he threw it forward, gravity making it drop lower every second. It was almost at the two criminals feet when Ian reached out to grab it. He caught it, bringing it up to chest height, safely away from the gunpowder. He smiled. 'Nice try, though-'he yelled out in pain when his jacket caught fire. He dropped the flare, and the gunpowder ignited instantly when the flame touched. Fire and flying sparks everywhere, they were parted. Shaw, Ian and a still unconscious Abby on one side of the flame and Ben and Riley on the other. Ian was just about to make a quick escape out the cargo hold door behind Shaw when he spotted Abby on the floor. She was separated from the people who would try and save her and there was no reason for her to die… He picked her up and slung her body over his shoulder and ran out.

'Run, run, get out!!' Ian yelled to the other men. They all ran to the two vehicles and got in. Shaw put his foot down while Ian laid Abby across the backseat.

A few seconds later the ship exploded with a massive _BOOM!_

The vehicle rocked with the shockwave of the explosion, debris flying everywhere. After a few seconds, Ian got out to take a look. There was no sign of life. He got back in. 'Okay let's go.' He said, looking guilt ridden. 'Before someone sees the smoke…' Shaw accelerated again. Ian looked back at the teenager. Somehow, he knew, even though he had only known her a couple of hours, she would have been shouting and bawling her eyes out if she had seen that.

Thank God she was still unconscious.


	4. Crazy

Chapter Four: Crazy

Chapter Four: Crazy

'You're crazy!' Abby yelled melodramatically when she finally woke up again, to find Ian standing over her in a sort of cell type room, with bars on the windows and a metal door. 'You know how many people will be looking for me? Heaps! There's my family, all of my friends, the people who I work for and my next door neighbours, just to say a few. I'm very popular, you know!'

Despite himself, Ian was interested. 'Who do you work for?'

'Why do _you_ want to know?' Abby shot back.

'Well, you could be working for the FBI or the CIA and then I would have to shoot you.' He was only half joking.

'I'm a singing teacher.' Abby growled, hating Ian more and more every second. Her shoelaces had been taken out of her shoes and anything sharp as well as her cell phone had also been taken. 'Why are you keeping me here?'

'You seem to know everything, and it could be useful to us.' Was his simple answer.

'But I don't know everything! I was lying! I can't see the future! I can't tell you everything; you may as well let me go! I'm of no use to you!

'Considering your little stunt back at _The Charlotte _I would have to say you are lying now. I can only assume you are saying that because you don't want to help us find the declaration. That's fine - we'll get it out of you somehow.'

He opened the door.

'How?'

Ian smirked. 'We have our methods.'

'That's stupid!' She tried to rush at the open door, but as she did she felt strong arms grab her around her waist and lift her up. 'Oh no, you don't!' Ian yelled as she struggled to get out of his grip. 'Let me GO!!' She yelled louder, twisting and turning and trying to cause him pain so that he would let go. While he was holding her up off the ground, he stumbled towards the door and kicked it shut with one foot. Who said men couldn't multi task?

He released her. She immediately turned around and tried to throw her hardest punch at his jawbone, but he grabbed her wrist in mid-air. 'That's not very nice.' He smirked.

'Neither are you.'

'Is that supposed to be and insult?' Ian just smirked more. In response, Abby swung at him again, and this one found its mark. 'Oof.' Ian goes, landing on his backside. He could tell he was going to have a bruise in the morning. 'Oh Yes!!' Abby yelled. 'That felt good – to finally get to hurt you-' but Ian found his gun and pointed it at her. 'Do you want me to hurt you?' He said in a threatening tone. Abby was silent. 'Good.'

Ian turned to leave. 'We're keeping you here until we figure out what to do with you, after we've got the Declaration.' He said, his voice carrying down the hall as he opened the door once again. Abby made no move. He paused, as if unsure of what to say. 'Don't do anything stupid.' He said finally, and then he was gone. Abby didn't even give herself time to appreciate the Jack Sparrow quote before she started yelling.

'Hey, wait! You can't just leave me here!! Lemme out! ' She yelled, banging her fists on the door. Ian heard her and spoke from the other side of the door. 'Sure we can.' He said calmly. She heard his footsteps fading. 'I didn't do anything wrong! LET-ME-OUT!!' But it was no good. The footsteps were gone. No one was coming.

'Where's Abby?' Was Riley's first question.

'I dunno.' Ben answered. 'But I think I saw Ian had her over his shoulder like a rag doll. No doubt she's captive somewhere…'

Riley muttered loudly something unprintable.

Ben looked at his snow-covered compass 'There's an Inuit village about nine miles east of here - It's popular with bush pilots.' He said.

'Alright…' Riley said. 'Then what're we gonna do?'

'Make our way back home.' Ben said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'No… I meant about Ian. He's gonna steal The Declaration of Independence, man.' Riley puffed. Ben turned and looked his friend straight in the eye.

'We stop him.'

It was about two days later and Abby was much calmer now, once she realized she was not getting out… And getting bored. She was also worried about Ben and Riley. After a while she realized she couldn't calm her nerves, so she started to sing. She loved to sing, and her mother had always sung to her when she was younger, when she was crying or scared. Now it had become a habit that when she was stressed in any way, she would sing to herself. She just found it soothing.

--

Ian was coming down to Abby's room to see if she was hungry, because a prisoner was not a prisoner if they starved to death. He brought a key up to the lock, and paused. He could hear something from inside the room, although he couldn't be sure what it was. What was that crazy girl doing? He pressed an ear against the cold metallic door. It took a moment to recognize the sound; he hadn't heard it in so long. Was she… Singing?

Her voice was entrancing. He leant against the doorframe, listening.

--

Abby had chosen a song from one of her favorite artists: Kelly Clarkson.

It was called "Hear Me". It just seemed kind of fitting. She just hoped her mother could somehow hear her. She began to sing softly:

'Hear me, hear me  
You gotta be out there  
You gotta be somewhere  
Wherever you are  
I'm waiting  
Oh

'Cause there are these nights when  
I sing myself to sleep  
And I'm hoping my dreams bring  
You close to me  
Are you listening?

Hear me I'm crying out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please

Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Hear me, oh, oh

I used to be scared of  
Letting someone in  
But it gets so lonely  
Being on my own  
With no one to talk to  
And no one to hold me  
I'm not always strong  
Oh, I need you here  
Are you listening?

Hear me I'm crying out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please

Hear me

I'm restless and wild  
I fall but I try  
I need someone to understand  
Can you hear me?  
I'm lost in my thoughts  
And baby I've fought  
For all that I've got  
Can you hear me?

Hear me I'm crying out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please  
Hear me

Hear me, hear me  
Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Hear me, hear me  
Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh  
Hear me, hear me  
Hear me

By the time she had finished the song, Abby had tears rolling down her cheeks. Ian burst in right after she had finished the last note, his jaw line bright purple where Abby had punched him. It had been obvious to her he was there: she had heard his footsteps and the keys jingling. When he saw her, he had to fight the strong urge to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay, even though it wasn't the truth. He felt extremely sorry for this girl, without knowing why.

'Are you okay?' He asked, closing the door behind him but not locking it.

Her stare was like poison. 'What do you think, I'm a hostage!' She said, remembering Patrick's line. She sniffed. 'What do you care?'

Ian sighed and sat down next to her. She wiped her tears away and glared at him suspiciously. 'Why are you here? You said you were going to leave me alone till you figured out what to do with me.'

Ian ducked the question, instead asking one of his own.

'What was that?'

'What?'

'That… Singing?'

'I told you I was a singing teacher,' she shrugged. 'I sing when i'm stressed.'

'You're stressed?'

Abby rolled her eyes inwardly. Geez, this guy was clueless. 'NO,' She said with over-exaggerated sarcasm. 'I so enjoy being your hostage.'

Ian almost laughed at that. 'Alright, alright.' He got up and was heading for the door when he heard Abby behind him.

'Are you going to kill me?'

The atmosphere of the room had changed from light and almost humorous to icy. Her voice was anxious and scared. He turned at looked at her.

'We will not hurt you.' He sounded more definite then he felt. He just hoped it was true. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and opened the door, stepped through and locked it again. While he was walking down the hallway, he heard her start singing again. He smiled sadly.

**R&R please and thank you! :D**


	5. Saxony, German

Chapter 5: Saxony, German

Chapter 5: Saxony, German

'Is it _so hard_ to believe that someone is going to try and steal The Declaration of Independence?' Riley groaned, walking beside Ben out of the J.Edgar Hoover FBI building, feeling rejected.

Ben considered. 'The FBI gets 10, 000 tips a week. They're not gonna worry about something they're sure is safe.'

'But anyone that can do anything is gonna think we're crazy, and anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't gonna want to help.' Riley wined. Ben thought for a second. 'We don't need someone crazy,' He said. 'But one step short of crazy, what do you get?' He asked Riley.

Riley snorted. 'Obsessed.'

'Passionate.'

--

About half an hour later they were sitting in the waiting room of the National Archives building. ''Scuse me.' Ben muttered as he reached over Riley to pick up a _National Archives Anniversary Gala _leaflet. He had just enough time to see the date before the door opened in front of them. 'Doctor Chase can see you now, Mr. Brown.' The secretary said. 'Mr. Brown?' Riley enquired as they rose out of their seats. 'Family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community.' Ben muttered, walking forward.

'Huh. Being beaten by the man.' They walked into the office and stopped when they saw Dr. Chase on the phone, who was, to their surprise, a woman. 'A very _cute_ man.' Riley said in surprise.

Dr. Chase held up a slender finger to tell them _One second_. 'Thank you.' She said, and put down the phone. She got up from behind her desk. 'Good afternoon, gentlemen,' she said and held her hand out 'Abigail Chase.' Riley turned so that the woman couldn't hear him. 'Oh great.' He said. 'Just what we need… Another Abigail.' Ben took her hand and shook it. 'Paul Brown.' Abigail nodded. 'Nice to meet you.' She said, then turned to Riley, ready to shake his hand. He did not disappoint. 'Bill.' He goes, in the most unconvincing tone. Abigail gave him a look. 'Nice to meet you… Bill.' She dropped his hand. 'How may I help you?'

Ben's ears picked up something. 'Your accent… Pennsylvania Dutch?'

'Saxony German.' Abigail leaned in, as if sharing a secret.

'Oh.' Ben said interested.

'You're not American?' Riley interrupted, as if offended. He was very patriotic.

'Oh, I am… An American. I just wasn't born here – please don't touch that!'

Ben froze his hand halfway to the button collection on the shelf.

'Sorry… Neat collection. George Washington's campaign buttons. You're missing the 1879 inaugural, though. I found one once.'

'That's very fortunate of you. Now, you told my assistant this was an _urgent_ matter?'

'Ah, yes, ma'am.' Ben said as they all took their various seats around her desk.

Ben sighed. 'Well, I'm gonna get straight to the point.' Good starting, check. Look her in the eye, check. Be as honest as possible, check. Be as convincing as possible, check. Ben ticked off these things one by one in his mental checklist.

'Someone's gonna steal The Declaration of Independence.'

The smile disappeared, and Abigail looked unbelievingly at Ben, then at Riley.

'It's true.' Riley said.

Abigail knew what she had to do, as part of her job. She picked up the phone. 'Well, I think I better put you gentlemen in touch with the FBI…'

'We've been to the FBI.' Ben said quickly.

'And?'

'They assured us that the declaration cannot possibly be stolen.' Riley said in irritation.

'They're right.'

Ben still kept trying. 'My friend and I are not so certain. However, if we were given the privilege of examining the document-' Abigail cocked her head to one side and gave Ben a strange look. Ben returned the exact same look and carried on. '-We would be able to tell you for certain if it was in any danger.'

Abigail leaned back on her comfortable office chair, considering. 'What do you think you're gonna find?' She asked. Ben chose his words carefully. 'We think there is a… encryption on the back.'

Riley inwardly cringed at his friend. _Way to go Ben, nice use of words – like she's never going to figure it out._

'An encryption, like a… Code?' Abigail asked. This was becoming more and more confusing.

'Yes. Ma'am.'

'Of what?' Abigail looked between the two men.

'A… cartograph.'

_Just some fancy lingo there that we hope you don't know._ Riley thought.

'A map?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'A map of what?'

'The location of...' Ben cleared his throat. 'Of hidden items, of historic and intrinsic value.'

_Can I marry his brain?_ Thought Riley.

'A treasure map?' Abigail said incredulously. Both men cringed.

'That's where we lost the FBI.' Riley said.

'You're treasure hunters, aren't you?'

_Busted!_ Riley turned to Ben, looking mock offended and having no idea what to say.

'More like, treasure protectors.'

'Per say.' Riley muttered.

Abigail leaned forward again. 'Mr. Brown, I have _personally seen_ the back of The Declaration of Independence, and I promise you, that the only thing there is a notation that reads: Original Declaration of Independence, -'

Ben cut in. '-dated Four of July, 1776. Yes, ma'am.'

Abigail nodded, pleased he understood. 'But no map.' She said firmly.

Ben looked across at Riley, who shook his head and mouthed 'no.', it wasn't worth it. Ben sighed. He had to try, anyway. 'It's…' He paused. 'Invisible.' He said, wondering how people actually respond to that. In this case, Abigail's eyebrows shot up, literally to her hairline. 'Oh, right!' She said sarcastically. She truly started to think these men mad.

'And, that's where we lost the department of homeland security.' Riley informed them, defeat one again clear in his voice.

Abigail decided to play along for just a little bit longer. 'What led you to assume there's this… Invisible map?'

Ben really didn't think telling her anymore information would do them any good, but nevertheless answered the question. 'We found an engraving on a 200 year old pipe.'

'-Owned by Free Masons.' Riley chimed in, trying his luck.

'May I see the pipe?'

''We don't have it.' Riley's hopes fell to their lowest point.

Abigail leaned forward with a twinkle in her eye. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. 'Did Bigfoot take it?'

Ben stood up, knowing all rational conversation was finished. 'It was nice meeting you.' He said, moving towards the door. 'Nice to meet you too.' Abigail said.

Ben was almost at the door when he turned suddenly. 'You know, that really is a nice collection.' He said, pointing towards said buttons. 'It must have taken you a long time to hunt down all that history.' And with that, both men left. Abigail smiled briefly, and then carried on with her work, as if there had been no interruption at all.

--

'If it's any consolation, you had me convinced.' Riley said, rushing after Ben.

'It's not.'

They were in the main hall of National Archives. 'I was thinking, what if we go public; plaster the story all over the Internet? It's not like we have our reputations to worry about. Although I don't think that's exactly gonna scare Ian away…' Riley was thinking aloud, as he sometimes did. Ben wasn't listening.

'180 years of searching, and i'm three feet away.' Ben sighed in frustration.

'Of all the words written here about freedom, there's a line here that's at the heart of all the others:

"_But when a long train of abuses_

_and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security._"

…People don't talk that way any more.' He muttered

'Beautiful, huh? No idea what you said.' Riley said honestly.

'It means, if there's something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.' There was a pause. 'I'm gonna steal it.' Ben muttered. Riley looked at him.

'I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.'

Riley laughed disbelievingly.

Ben walked out of the National Archives building, with Riley quick on his tail.

'Ben?!'

**How was it? I know, it's just a scene from the movie; I had two reasons for writing it. One was to give an idea of what was going on to anyone that hadn't seen the movie – not skipping chapters and leaving people completely lost. The other reason was that I find it interesting to see how different people interpret looks, silences and such in a movie and put it in writing. That's what I did for me, as well. I hoped you enjoyed and, yes, there will be more of these types of scenes in the story. Like the next chapter!**

**You will have also noticed how I distinguished Abby from Dr. Chase. One will always be called Abby and the other either Dr. Chase or Abigail. I will never switch the names in hope not to confuse you! xD**

**Review, please!!**


	6. Prison Huge

**This is another purely Riley and Ben chapter****, with a little bit of Abigail, just doing scenes that were in the movie. But don't worry, there's gonna be a lot of Abby and Ian in the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: This just might be possible

'This is... huge.' Riley said. 'Prison huge.' He looked a Ben. You are gonna go to prison, you know that?' He asked. They were sitting on the steps outside National Archives, the sun heating them.

'Yeah, probably.'

Riley noticed his lack of emotion. 'So that would _bother_ most people.'

_But then again, Ben's not most people. _He thought.

Ben looked up at Riley, determined. 'Ian's gonna try and steal it. And if he

succeeds, he'll destroy the Declaration.' He told him. 'The fact is, the only way to protect the Declaration is to steal it. It's upside down.' He said.

_It's crazy but somehow it makes sense. _'That still doesn't mean its right.' Riley said.

'I don't think there's a choice.'

Riley looked at him. He trusted Ben 100%, but sometimes he just went a little too far. 'Ben, for God's sakes, it's like stealing a national monument. OK? It's like stealing _him_!' He gestured towards the Lincoln statue. 'It can't be done. Not shouldn't be done. It _can't_ be done.' He saw that Ben didn't believe him. 'Let me prove it to you.' He gave Ben a look.

'OK, Ben, pay attention. I've brought you to the Library of Congress. _Why?_ Because it's the biggest library in the world. Over 20 million books.' He lent in, adjusting his glasses. 'And they're all saying the same exact thing:

_listen to Riley_.'

He paused. 'What we have here, my friend, is an entire layout of the archives. Short of builders' blueprints. You've got construction orders,

phone lines, water and sewage - it's all here.' He picked up a big, but not heavy book and placed it on the desk in front of Ben, causing him to look up. Poor guy, he honestly looked like he was half asleep. Riley pitied him for a moment, then continued with his long explanation.

'Now, when the Declaration is on display, OK, it is surrounded by guards and video monitors and a little family from lowa and little kids on their eighth-grade field trip. And beneath an inch of bulletproof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitor that will go off if someone gets too close

with a high fever.' He paused, taking a breath and pushing up his glasses which had slipped down his nose. 'Now, when it's not on display, it is lowered into a four-foot-thick concrete, steel-plated vault...' He sighed. 'That happens to be equipped with an electronic combination lock and biometric access-denial systems.' He finished, convincing himself that that was the end. But of course, Ben never gives up that easily.

'You know, Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 2000 times to develop the carbonised cotton-thread filament for the incandescent light bulb.' He said out of the blue.

'Edison?' Asked Riley. He frowned, clearly confused.

Ben continued. 'When asked about it, he said, "I didn't fail, I found out 2000 ways how not to make a light bulb." But he only needed to find one way

to make it work.' He lifted a heavy book opened on a page labeled _The Preservation Room_ and dropped it on top of Riley's one with a _Thud_. 'The Preservation Room. Enjoy. Go ahead.' Riley looked thoroughly confused as he looked at the book, and Ben decided to lead him through it.

'Do you know what the Preservation Room is for?'

'Delicious jams and jellies?' Riley joked, half hoping it was true.

Ben shook his head. 'No. That's where they clean, repair and maintain all the documents and the storage housings when they're not on display or in the vault.' He leant forward, pointing. 'Now, when the case needs work they take it out of the vault, directly across the hall and into the Preservation Room.' He leant back and rested his head in one hand. 'The best time for us, or Ian, to steal it, would be during the gala this weekend, when the guards are distracted by the VIPs upstairs.' He could see Riley thinking, and continued. 'But we'll make our way to the Preservation

Room, where there's much less security.'

Riley was baffled.

'Well, if lan...' He flicked through the pages.

'Preservation...

The gala, huh?'

He looked up at Ben.

'This might be possible.'

Ben nodded.

'It might.'

The rest of the two days before the gala was spent in preparation for what they were going to do: Setting up a clean room, complete with various chemicals and things to do the application with. Riley snuck in to the underground part of the National Archives and fixed the wires so that he would have feed. Ben got a present ready for Dr. Chase: The button that he mentioned he found, also known as the 1879 inaugural that she was missing. He dipped it in invisible ink and placed it in the small velvet red jewelry box he had brought, complete with golden bow and card attached.

FOR THE WOMAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING ELSE.

He wrote in block capitals.

THANKS FOR LISTENING,

PAUL BROWN

'This just came for you.'

Abigail Chase looked up to see her assistant holding up a small velvet red box with a golden bow on it. She took it and begun to open the card. 'I hope it's not from Stan.' She said wearily, as she pulled the card of out its envelope.

She read the note aloud and then eagerly picked up the small box, flipping it open. She paused, surprised. This was definitely not what she expected. She picked up the small button and looked at it, turning it over with her fingers.

Unbeknownst to her, she was getting invisible ink all over her fingers. She smiled.

Meanwhile, Riley was testing out his new heat laser. Using a video camera for cover, while an old lady is bending over the Declaration, he pressed the button that activates the laser, pointing it at the heat sensors he could spot underneath the glass. In the control room, alarm bells started ringing.

'Abigail Chase.' Abigail answered the phone in her office. She listened for a moment. 'I'll be right there.' She said, putting the phone down and making her way to the preservation room. She met up with Stan halfway and without a word he followed her. At the entrance to the preservation room an electrical keyboard slid out, awaiting a password. She typed it in and a moment later the screen above the keyboard said _Access Granted_ . The door slid open and they both passed through, wondering what was happening. 'Hey, Mike…'

Back safely inside his van, Riley had his laptop on his knees and was watching the commotion in the preservation room. The security guards were taking the Declaration into the preservation room.

'Let's do this by the book.' Hallway is secure.

'Keep the document level.'

'No problem.'

Suddenly Abigail Chase and a guy Riley didn't recognize walked in.

'What have you got?' She asked.

'The heat sensor went off in the Declaration frame.' One of the guards told her.

_Unbelievable,_ Riley thought. _I did it!_

'Run full diagnostics, then I want them all changed out.'

Riley smirked.

'Our evil plan is working.'

The day before Ben had gone "sightseeing" and snapped some photos of one of the National Archive's security men's badges. Now he got out his computer and cropped the photo, replacing picture with his own. When it was complete, he nodded to himself. 'I'd buy that.' He said, and printed it out for laminating.

Then he got ready to go, and was waiting for Riley when he came up in his red van. 'Suave.' He said sarcastically, as Ben hopped in the passenger's seat with his handy-man uniform on and his fake ID clipped on.

'All set?' He asked, looking to the back of the small van, which was covered in complicated wires and such. In the middle of it all, sat Riley's computer. Riley smiled.

'All set.'

'Then drive.'


	7. The Gala

Chapter 7: The Gala

It had been two days since Ian had last come in and seen Abby, so she was surprised when she saw him opening the door: it was usually Shaw that bought her her food. What surprised her more is that he was carrying about half a dozen different makeup boxes. He dropped them on her lap. 'Put these on.' He told her.

'Where's my blusher?' She joked as she picked up the makeup and looked at it. Ian ignored her and reached behind the side of the door to bring out a deep red, low cut dress. It looked as if it had just been brought out of an expensive clothing store. 'Get dressed as quickly as possible.' He said, handing her the dress. She knew what this was for, of course. But she asked, just to be sure.

'Why?'

'We're going to a party.'

'Are you sure it safe for her to be here, Ian?' Shaw asked.

'Of course, she's part of the operation. And she promises not to run, don't you, Abby?'

'How can I? I'm chained to the chair.' Abby proved her point by pulling against the handcuffs several times, making a noise against the wood.

'But you swear?'

Abby sighed. '_Yes_, Ian. For Gods sake I swear!'

It was a little while later and Abby was dressed ready to go, make up and all. If she hadn't been chained to the chair would have sprinted out for all her life's worth.

'Okay. Here's the plan. Shaw, Powell and I will go underground and to the preservation to get the document. The rest of you will be in the truck ready to go and keeping an eye out. And you,' He turned to Abby. 'Will be mingling among the guests and looking for any suspicious behaviour you can tell us of – you will be wired for sound and will have a mike, of course.' He answered her question before she asked.

'That's all very well, but how am I going to get in there? Last time I checked I wasn't a VIP.'

'I have already hacked into the system and put you on the guest list under Abigail Poole.' Abby's eyebrows shot up and Ian smirked. 'You're father just made a huge donation to National Archives, but he was sick today and told you to come for him.'

'Ew! Riley's my _father_?'

'No. He's your cousin. Your father's name is Bill.'

'Uh, Ian?' Shaw interrupted. 'Why are we letting her go on her own? Couldn't she just-'

'Run? Yes, I suppose so. But,' He turned back to Abby, whose eyes were temporarily filled with hope. 'Somewhere in that very expensive dress of yours I have put a tiny tracking device, so if you go anywhere that's not permitted by me-'

'-You'll know about it.' Abby growled, hopes vanishing.

Ian smirked. 'Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything that might go wrong?

'You won't succeed.'

Ian didn't believe her. 'You're just trying to stop us doing this aren't you?'

'Well, I _might_ be.' Abby looked him straight in the eye. 'And I might not.'

Ben,' Riley said as Ben hopped out of the van. 'Are you sure we should-'Ben slid the door shut in the middle of Riley's question, shutting him in, obviously not listening. A couple of seconds later Ben spoke through the mike. 'Riley? Can you here me?' He asked. 'Unfortunately, yeah.' Came the reply through Ben's earpiece. He heard tapping of keys and then Riley said 'We're all set in here.'

Ben didn't reply, instead walking up to a security guard that was telling an elderly couple '**…**You want to go around to the frontand present your invitation.You're gonna have to show ID…' He saw Ben as he flashed his fake ID and nodded hurriedly.'Go ahead, man.' Ben moved through to the x-ray machine and the metal detector. 'Howdy.' He said as he took off the small pack that was clipped around his hips and put it on the x-ray belt. Then he walked through the detector. Both were clean.

When the guards were out of sight, he quickened his pace and hurried into the men's room. After checking that no one was there, he unzipped the front of his handyman costume to reveal a very fancy tux. Unclipping his pack in the process, he shoved both items into the bin where you were supposed to put used hand towels. Then he turned and checked his appearance in the mirror. 'How do you look?' Riley's teasing tone came over the earpiece. 'Not bad.' He muttered, smoothing back his hair with one hand and then going and joining the rest of the party. 'Mazel tov.' Riley said.

'May I see your invitation and ID please?'

After waiting in the line for what seemed like hours, Abby handed over her ID and invitation (which were both very good fakes), and tried not to look nervous – or better yet: Happy and even relaxed. The guard glanced at them and nodded. 'Have a nice evening, Miss Poole.' He said. Abby dumped her mike as soon as she was in the main room. Ian had told her to only contact him if she saw anything out of the ordinary. Which was going to be nothing, except Ben. She looked around and spotted him, walking over to him. He seemed to be looking for someone, with one glass of champagne in each hand. 'Abby!' He saw her and felt so surprised, relieved and glad to see her that he gave her a hug before looking round. 'Where's Ian?' he asked. 'Big, catering van, watch out for it.' Abby looked down at herself. 'Listen, I need to get some new clothes, but I dunno where…' Ben pointed to the souvenir shop. 'You should be able to get something there, but why? You look… Great.' Abby smiled at the compliment.

'Let's just say i've been told I have a tracking device on me… For Doctor Chase?' She asked, changing the subject gesturing towards the second glass in his hand. Ben had got used to her predictions, he didn't even ask. 'Yeah… I believe you now, you know?'

Abby smiled. 'I know.'

'I'm sorry I didn't.'

'Listen, you can repay me later. Right now, I need to get some new clothes and you need to talk up Doctor Chase.' She gestured. 'When you've got the Declaration i'll be waiting in the hallway and i'll follow you out, ok?' Abby said. 'Oh, and by the way, the name's Abigail Poole.' Without waiting for a response from Ben, Abby floated away towards the souvenir shop. Riley, who was hearing this all through Ben's mike, was shocked. 'She has_ my _name?_'_ He asked, incredulously. 'Yes. Probably posing as your sister or something.' Ben said through gritted teeth, just as surprised as he was. 'Now, shut up, please.' It was only a couple of seconds before Dr Chase was standing in front of him.

'Mr. Brown,' she said, surprised. 'What are you doing here?'

Ben had made up a lie that afternoon. 'I made a last minute donation. A big one.' He told her, trying to sound believable. 'Oh, here,' He gave her one of the glasses. 'I got you this.' She took the offer. 'Thank you.' She smiled.

'Is that that hot girl? How does she look?' Riley chimed. Ben ignored him and concentrated on what Abigail was saying. '…Thank you for your wonderful gift.' Ben looked immensely relieved. 'Oh, you did get it? Good!'

'Yes, thank you.' Abigail suddenly looked cheeky. 'You know, I really couldn't accept something like that normally, but... I really want it.' She admitted honestly.

'Well, you needed it.'

Riley interrupted. 'Come on, Romeo, get outta there.'

Abigail, oblivious to this, kept talking. 'I have been wondering, though, what the engraving indicated on the pipe that Big Foot took.' Ben was about to answer, when a voice said behind him 'Hi.' He turned and saw a man he did not recognize (Riley had seen on the security footage of the preservation room; but had never heard him speak). 'Here you go.' The man held out a glass to Abigail, who looked awkward. 'Dr. Herbert, this is Mr. Brown.'

'Hi.' Stan goes snobbily.

'Hi there.' Ben replied in a much friendlier tone.

'Who's the stiff?' Riley asked, making Ben fight the urge to laugh.

There was an awkward pause. 'Here,' Ben said, reaching out and taking Abigail's glass at the bottom. 'Why don't I take that, so you can take _that _off his hands?' Abigail accepted his offer 'Thank you.' She said, and took the second glass off Stan. There was another pause, but it was much less awkward.

'So, a toast, yeah?' Ben said, holding up his glass. The others followed suit. 'To high treason.' Abigail gave Ben a look. 'That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration.' He explained, as if she didn't already know. 'Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and - Oh! Oh, my personal favorite - and had their entrails cut out and burned!' The two doctors looked shocked for a moment. 'Always a crowd pleaser.' Said Riley in Ben's ear. He continued.

'So, here's to the men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right.' He paused, giving Abigail a significant look, which she took note of. 'What they knew was right.' He repeated again, saying it to only her, hoping she would get the message but not figure it out for a while.

The two doctors started sipping their drinks. But Ben, always the charmer, downed his tall glass in one swallow. When he resurfaced, they were staring at him. 'Well, goodnight.' He said, walking off. 'Goodnight.' Replied the other two to nothing, because Ben was already gone. Abigail smiled.

Ian had left Abby fifty dollars, her own cell phone without the battery and various bits of make up in a purse along with the fake invite and ID so as to not look suspicious. Abby now used forty of the fifty dollars to buy some cheap clothes from the souvenirs shop. She hated tourists, but it was better than nothing.

She realized she should have left some money with Ben to avoid the credit card slip, but it was too late now. Cursing herself inwardly, she got changed and dumped the dress in the ladies' room hand towel bin. She was sad to leave the dress, but not having the tracker was crucial to her escape. She couldn't go into the ballroom dressed like she was, because that would be awkward, so she waited in a hallway perpendicular to the hallway Ben was going to escape through in less than an hour. She sat and waited.

Ian was down underneath the building, moving onto the first obstacle: A large fan. He nodded at Shaw, who got out a chain and threw it into the moving fan. There were a couple of deafening bangs and a few sparks and then the fan stopped. 'Go, go, go!' Ian shouted.

'This better work.' Riley muttered into his mike. 'How does it look?' Ben was in the bathrooms and had set up his workspace on the baby changing unit. He was pouring a transparent solution into a plastic bag with Doctor Chase's glass. There was a tense moment. 'It's working!' Ben said excitedly as he noticed purple fumes inside the bag, and Abigail's fingerprints starting to be visible on the wineglass. 'It's working…'

'Unbelieveable.' Riley said.

Ben got out a thumb of a rubber glove (the rest was cut off), and picked up the glass out of the bag, examining it carefully. He found the print he was looking for and carefully pressed his thumb against it, lifting it off the glass and onto the latex. He packed everything up carefully and binned it. Then walked outside to the elevator, which had a fingerprint scanning for access. Ben pressed his thumb to the scanner. After a moment, it said:

**Chase, Abigail**

**ACCESS GRANTED**

Inwardly pleased with himself, Ben heard a small _ding_ and the elevator opened. Trying to look as if he belonged there, Ben stepped inside elevator with the most unemotional expression on his face that he could muster. Once the doors closed, he said 'We're in the elevator.' He heard Riley typing. 'Ok. I'm gonna turn off the surveillance cameras. Ready? In five, four, three... Now.' In the security room, the image jumped a bit, but not enough for anyone to notice.

'Ben Gates, you are now the invisible man.' Riley sounded extremely pleased with himself.

The door lifts opened, unbeknown to the security guards. Ben walked up to where the screen and keyboard was waiting. 'I'm here.' He said. 'Ok.' Said Riley, putting a pencil between his teeth. 'Give me the letters to her password. What have you got for me?' Ben pulled out his UV light and shined it on the keyboard. He smiled – he couldn't believe this had actually worked. 'Hit me with it.' Riley said, impatient. 'A-E-F-G-L-O-R-' Ben started. Then Riley remembered something. 'Ben, its Valley Forge! The password's Valley Forge! She pressed the E and the L twice…' Ben was surprised. How'd you know? I haven't given you all the letters yet.' There was a pause. Unable to think of a reasonable lie, Riley sighed. 'Abby told me.' Both men smiled knowingly, while Ben typed in the words without hesitation, shaking his head.

Within a few seconds **ACCESS GRANTED** appeared once again, and Ben was in the preservation room. He pointed to the camera, knowing Riley could see him. 'Hello,' goes Riley in a kooky accent. 'Ben, you're doing great.'

Ian and his cronies were breaking into the other door which led to the preservation room. One of them drilled a hole in the wall, and connected a wire to the electronic portable display system he had in his bag. There was static for a second and then live feed of the hallway appeared on the screen

'We own video.' He said, satisfied.

Back in the van, Riley was content. Ben started unscrewing the frame to the Declaration, all was good. 'You've got about one-'Riley broke off as his feed turned to static. 'I lost my feed.' He said, horrified. 'What?' Ben asked, alarmed, looking up from his work briefly. 'I lost my feed, Ben.' Riley repeated; Ben could hear a flurry of furious typing. 'I don't know where anyone is. I have nothing. Ben, I have no- Ben, I have nothing!' Riley was shocked. 'Get out of there. Get out of there _now_.'

'I'm taking the whole thing.' Ben said, trying to pick it up, but failing. In the end, he dragged across the floor. 'What are you talking about-'Riley began, but then rethought his question. 'Is it heavy?'

Ben got to the elevator and pushed the call button. He suddenly turned when he heard a loud _crack _from the other end of the hallway and almost jumped backwards as the door was kicked open with a _bang_. _Oh, crap. _Ben thought as he realized who it was. Ian stood in the doorway, shocked at what he was seeing. 'Gates.' He whispered, before he was roughly pushed aside by Shaw, who had started shooting.

In the van, Riley ducked quickly, thinking he was the one being shot at. It took him a moment to realize the noise was coming from his earpiece. 'Ben!' He shouted. 'Ben are you alright?'

Ben didn't answer, but had found new strength in his fear, and heaved the Declaration and its case, complete with inch-thick bullet-proof glass between himself and the bullet, although the force was still enough to throw him back into the elevator doors, which were slowly opening. The men continued shooting, advancing quickly and Ben was pushed into the elevator and hurriedly kicked the up button. The doors closed when the men were about three-quarters down the hallway. Ben sighed in relief. That was _way_ too close…

Back in the hallway, Ian and the crew started running back out the door they came through, not worrying about noise. 'Damn, he's got the _bloody_ map!' Ian shouted, furious.

Ben realized Riley was speaking to him. '… What was that? Who's shooting?' There was a short pause as Ben continued to unscrew the frame.

'Ian's here. There was, uh – shooting.'

Riley's voice was pure loathing. 'I _hate_ that guy.'

Ben smiled. 'I know, Riley. I know.'

***  
'Rebecca, have you got a Paul Brown on that list?' Doctor Chase could not shake off a feeling that something was wrong, and finally gave in to her intuition.

'Paul Brown?' Rebecca asked, confused. She flicked through the guest list quickly. 'No. No Paul Brown here, sorry.' She confirmed Abigail's suspicions.

_Holly…_ She was so mad, she couldn't even think. That man had tricked her. He was up to something… And she had a feeling she knew what. 'Keep an eye out for suspicious activity.' She goes, and then walks off, seeing if she could spot said man. She could not.

Ben had made it through to the souvenirs shop, subconsciously looking around for Abby. He didn't even realize that the now free-from-one-ton-heavy-frame, which was at that moment rolled up in plastic sleeve, was sticking obviously out of his jacket, but only if you happened to glance up when he was passing, as the store clerk did.

'Are you trying to _steal _that?' She asked incredulously. 'It's $35…'

Ben finally snapped back into reality and looked down to where she was gesturing, slowly pulling out The Declaration of Independence. His eye was caught a stand in front of the desk that the clerk was behind.

_Actual Size Declaration of Independence_

_Reproductions_

'What, for this?' Ben asked, trying to play dumb. 'That's a lot.' He said, and grabbed another one. The woman smiled kindly. 'Hey, I don't make the prices.' She said, folding her hands together and putting them on the middle of the desk-top. Ben pulled out his wallet, pouring all the change he had onto the desk. 'It's…' He said, counting. He put his hand into his jacket pocket, desperately trying to get coins. 'Thirty two, fifty seven.' He looked up hopefully, even though he had no chance: That much wasn't even enough for one. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, as if she had since this a million times. 'We take visa.' She said in a matter-of-fact tone, holding out an expectant hand.

Ben sighed and plunged his hand back into his pocket. Riley was not going to thank him for this…

Abby got excited when she finally spotted Ben coming out of the shop. Eagerly, she started to follow. Then she remembered Abigail and quickly turned around, her face facing out the window until she heard the high heels had rushed past, then quickly followed, not having to worry about her footsteps being heard, as she was now barefoot. She rushed down the stairs, out into the open air, right behind the two historians, oblivious to both Ben and Dr. Chase. They had begun to argue. The security alarm had gone off in the building, and Dr Chase was yelling at the top of her lungs, rushing back towards the building. Remembering what came next, Abby looked sideways. 'RUN!' She screamed, headlights blinding her. She grabbed Abigail's hand and pulling her towards the red van, but it was too late; Abby felt a familiar strong pair of arms clamp around her. 'Let-go-Ian!' She screamed as loud as she could, trying to bite one of his arms. 'Just take her; i'll deal with this one!' She heard him puff. She was lifted off his feet once again and taken, screaming into the catering truck they were using for cover, knowing that Ben and Riley were watching the whole scene from the van in awe. The bad kind of awe.

'Go, Victor!' Ian shouted when he was safely inside the truck. The tires screeched, and they were all thrown to the back of the truck. Once it had calmed down, Abby tried to lash out, missing because of the bumpiness. Ian nodded towards Shaw again for the god knows how many time and he pulled a gun out. 'You move, you die.' Ian said. 'Well, that's kinda hard.' Abby said sarcastically, as they hit yet another bump. She shut up when the gun pressed against her temple. Not good.

Unexpectedly, the back doors flew open, with Abigail on them. 'Ahhhhhhhhhh!' She yelled, immediately regretting her choice of escape. She was holding on to the door handle and the fake Declaration in the other. In the van, the boys were stunned. 'Holy lord.' Riley said, while Ben climbed into the back of the van, sliding the side door open. 'Get me next to her!' He yelled back to Riley. Immediately the van slid sideways, as if passing the truck. When they were level, Ben shouted to Abigail. 'Abigail, grab my hand!' It took about a half a minute to get a good hold, and they were shooting. Again. 'Hold on!' Ben said, heaving Abigail towards him, so they both were thrown back into the van. The breath was knocked out of Abigail, but otherwise they were all right. The door slammed shut. 'Shall we go?' Riley asked loudly.

'No. I'm not leaving Abby! Not this time! Keep me next to the van, I have a feeling I know what she is going to do…'

Riley rolled his eyes. 'Not you too.'

Ben smiled briefly as he began to open the door once again.


	8. AbbyAbigail

Chapter 8: Abby/Abigail

Abigail was gone, safely in the van. But that was the least of Abby's problems. She had to get away, and the only way she could do that is doing the exact same stunt as the woman did. She wouldn't have the element of surprise, but no one would dare try and get her back – except Ben.

There was another big bump, and pots and pans were falling all over the place, like it was raining of them. _Raining pots and pans…_ Abby almost laughed. Then she saw her opportunity: Shaw had got struck on the head with a pan, and was temporarily dazed. Better yet, the gun had flown out of his hand – towards her. She picked it up. 'Anyone moves, I shoot.' She looked Ian in the eye, and he could tell she was not joking. He raised his hands slowly, as Abby moved swiftly to the double doors. 'I thought you weren't going to run.' Ian said, trying to sound hurt. The guilt trip always worked with people that age. Abby froze, and then relaxed. 'Don't try the pity route, Ian. It doesn't suit you.'

'But you promised…'

She smirked. 'Did you _really _expect me to keep my promises, Ian?' Ian didn't, but it was worth a try. She shrugged. 'Besides,' she said, completely relaxed. 'I had my toes crossed.' And with that, she tightened her grip on the handle and opened the door. It was nearly ripped off by the wind, and she was thrown out into the open. She had to force herself not to scream. Something sharp had caught her right arm and was piecing her skin, almost forcing her to let go.

'Abby!' She heard Ben yell urgently. 'Grab my hand!' She groped blindly, until she felt flesh hit flesh. She made sure he had a good grip of her before letting go. She noticed they were not shooting at her, which she found odd.

Once again Ben was thrown into the back of the van, along with Abby, who landed hard on top of him, smearing his shirt with her blood. Abby leaned against the wall as Ben got up and asked 'Are you okay, Abby?'

'Yes.' Both Abby and Abigail replied in unison.

'Oh, boy.' Said Riley, rolling her eyes. He turned in his seat, trying to keep his eyes on the road. 'Okay, you' he pointed to Abby. 'Are Abby. And you-'

He pointed to Abigail/Dr Chase. 'Are… The mean declaration lady. There.' He said happily. 'No more problem.' Abigail looked mildly insulted and Abby giggled. Riley caught on and smiled.

'Riley!' Ben interrupted the moment. 'Keep your eyes on the road!' He looked down at the two women and noticed something. 'Abby! You're bleeding!' he said. Abby looked down at her white-turned-red bloodstained shirt. She peeled the short sleeve up on her arm. 'I know,' she said. 'Something poked me.' She looked round the wire-filled interior of the van. 'You don't happen to have tissues or something here do you?'

Riley snorted, but said nothing.

'No.' Said Ben, shooting Riley a look. 'Um…'

'Here, take this.' Abigail said unexpectedly, pressing her fancy jacket up against the wound. Then she turned to Ben and, even more surprisingly, started yelling at him – Abby's thanks was drowned out by her words. 'Why did you let those men just _go_?' she shouted in his face. 'They have the Declaration! The_ Declaration of Independence!_'' She said, as if they didn't know how big this situation was. The truth was, she was the one who was ignorant.

'No they didn't. By the way, are _you_ ok?' He raised an eyebrow at her. 'No, I'm not!' She yelled, her voice echoing loudly around the tiny van. 'Those… _Men_ have the Declaration of Independence!' Riley turned around again. 'She _lost _it?' He said, alarmed.

'I told you, they don't.' Ben said calmly. 'Riley, eyes. Road. Now.' Riley grudgingly turned and concentrated on his driving. 'Where is it, then?' Abigail asked. 'Here.' Ben said, pulling out a long plastic tube and unscrewing the cap. 'Look.' He indicated, tipping the open tube upside down in to his palm. Out slid the obviously authentic Declaration. 'See?' He said; recapping the tube before Abigail could make a grab for it. 'Then what have they got?' Abby pondered, deciding to join the conversation. 'Souvenir.' Ben told her, a glint in his eye. 'I thought it might be a god idea to have a duplicate – turns out I was right.' He turned to Abigail. 'Which means, for the Declaration and the duplicate, you owe me…' He quickly counted in his head. 'Thirty-five dollars, plus tax.'

'Genius.' Abby and Riley said in unison., sharing a genuine smile. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

'That's dumb! Give me that!' Abigail shouted, lunging at Ben. Ben turned away and used his body as a shield. Abby managed to get Abigail off Ben, and he turned to walk up to his seat. 'You're still shouting.' He noted 'and it's really starting to annoy.' He sat down. 'You would do well, Doctor Chase, to be a bit more civilized in this instance.' His eyes sparkled as he spoke in mock formality. Riley and Abby grinned at each other as Abigail snorted.

'Who were those men?'

'Just the men we _warned_ you were gonna steal the Declaration.' Riley raised his eyebrows at Abigail. 'And _you_ didn't believe them, even though there was no reason that they would have lied to you.' Abby observed. Abigail looked at her oddly.

'We told her-' Ben lied quickly. 'And it was kinda obvious…' Abby interrupted. 'I mean, if you believed them, then none of us would be here, right?' She was still pointing the finger of blame at Abigail, even though she knew that this wouldn't have happened if she had done more.

'Anyway, we did the only thing we could do.' Ben said.

'Verdammt! Give me that!'

'You know what? You're shouting again.' Ben said cockily.

'And swearing too.' Abby put in.

'Well, we probably deserved that.' Ben grinned.

Abigail sat back down, looking thoroughly pissed, although she had quietined down. Her voice was soft when she spoke. 'There is **not** a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.'

'How do you know?' This was Abby.

Abigail turned to the teenager, her voice growing louder with each word. 'Because I have handled it and studied it for years, including the back. There is **no **treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence!'

'Oh, and I suppose that no one can steal the Declaration of Independence either.' Said Abby, Ben and Riley in unison.

"I leveled with you 100%, Dr Chase. Everything I told you was the truth.' Ben added.

Dr Chase did not answer, instead turning to Ben. 'I want that document Mr Brown.' Ben blanched, looking a tad guilty. 'Ok, I leveled with you 98%. My names not Brown. It's Gates.' Abigail jumped up again, looking at all 3 of them. 'Did you just say "Gates?"' She stared at Ben. 'Gates? You're that family with the conspiracy about the founding fathers?' She gave Ben a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding' look. Ben straightened in his seat and said forcefully. 'It's **not** a conspiracy theory.' Beside him, Riley flashed him a knowing smile.

'Per se.'


End file.
